


How Adrian Got His Groove Back

by Eggegg



Category: Wizard101 (Video Game)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Slight Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25820155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggegg/pseuds/Eggegg
Summary: After defeating Malistaire and subduing the Dragon Titan, the Savior of the Spiral returned to Earth. Now, after seven long years of teen angst and clinical depression, it is time for him to return to the Spiral.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	How Adrian Got His Groove Back

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story a couple years ago as a kind of tongue-in-cheek, wish-fulfillment story based on my first year of college. No matter how much time has gone by, this terrible game always draws me back!!

Four boys huddled around a mostly demolished pizza, nearing the end of another night of complaining about classes and talking over each other. Despite their apathetic facades, anyone could see that both the bags under their eyes and the tension in their backs meant that their many sleepless nights were taking their toll. Adrian was especially listless, trying his best to ignore his backpack on the floor and pretend he didn’t have piles of homework for classes he didn’t care about. 

“God, I miss being a kid and not having to worry about all this adult stuff,” one of his friends grumbled, handing his debit card to their waitress. Adrian groaned in agreement, as if they hadn’t already been complaining about it every day for the past few weeks. 

“I miss feeling like I was the most important person in the world,” another responded. As the others continued the conversation without him, Adrian smiled to himself. He had never told anyone on Earth that as a child, he _had_ been the most important person in _many_ worlds. That is, him and--

The waitress stumbled over his backpack, then turned around and gave him a passive-aggressive reprimand. One of his friends kicked the backpack under his own seat as Adrian blurted out an apology, reminding himself (as he did almost daily) that those times were long gone. 

The restaurant’s door banged open and ushered in both a flurry of air and a profound sense of peace and clarity. The boys subconsciously relaxed their shoulders and lowered their eyelids. Adrian recognized this unnatural feeling of relief--it was like the rush of endorphins moments before biological death. He turned away from his friends sitting around their stained table and watched as a young woman walked in. Dressed in black slacks and a white blouse that probably would have looked professional in the 1890s, she looked like any other theatre major stopping by to get dinner after a stressful day. Pausing just inside the door, she scanned the restaurant from left to right before her eyes met Adrian’s. He remembered those eyes: a blue so dark they almost looked black. His own eyes widened. ‘ _What the hell is going on?’_ he thought. 

The girl marched toward Adrian with a grim countenance. “Aaron, you know her?” His friend nudged him and chuckled. Adrian realized he had spoken his thought out loud. “That’s intense. You look like you’re in trouble!” Adrian wiped his greasy hands on an even greasier napkin and got to his feet right as the girl reached the table. 

The corners of Adrian’s lips curled up in an awkward smile. The girl drew a short breath, preparing to speak. “Morgan!” he said, interrupting her. He glanced at his friends. “Uh, ha, this is Morgan. Morgan, this is—”

She held her hand up. “I don’t care. I’d like to talk with you outside.” Her glassy voice slid over the syllables of her Wizard City accent. Adrian hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that voice. 

His friends smirked, looking incredulous. The one who had first noticed her come in stuttered, “How do you know Aaron?”

Now Morgan looked a bit taken aback. A wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. “I thought your name was Adrian Shadowblade—”

“Yeah, okay, let’s talk outside!” Adrian placed his hand on her back and pushed her towards the door as his friends erupted in confused laughter behind him. Morgan slapped his hands away, and, once she was confident that he really was following her outside, she balled up her hands into fists and stalked past him.

Adrian put his hands in his jacket pockets as they exited into the nighttime chill. Morgan looked so different since the last time he had seen her, when they were just two confused pre-teens tasked with saving the world. Now she looked like one of those kids who had a plan for each step of their career path, like she was well on her way to becoming an actual adult. “What the hell are you doing here?” Adrian spluttered.

“We need you to return to Wizard City.” Straight to the point. She hadn’t changed at all. 

Adrian’s head jerked back. “What? Why?” He cringed as his voice cracked. 

Morgan held her narrowed eyes on his, as irascible as ever. “There’s something afoot in Celestia, and Ambrose wants his ‘Savior of the Spiral’ to return, even though I’m _plenty_ equipped to handle it on my own.”

Adrian shook his head, bewildered. “What’s ‘afoot’?” he asked, making air quotes. “Actually, don’t answer that. I really can’t come with you.”

Morgan crossed her arms and tried her best to look down at him, even though he was slightly taller. “You can--and will.”

Adrian laughed upwards. “The last time I was taken to Wizard City against my will, my parents thought I had been kidnapped—” Adrian threw up his hands with a sardonic grin. “--and I guess I had been! They were losing their minds from worry the whole time I was gone.” 

Morgan was unmoved. “Tell them that you’ve gone on holiday to another worl--er, ‘country.’ And that you won’t be back for several months at least.” 

Adrian gawked at her, amused. “They’re paying half of the bills for the classes I just started taking.” He looked at his feet and huffed. “Also, I’m in _debt_ and have no business taking _months-long_ vacations.” 

Morgans nostrils flared. “So you’ll just leave them all to die, will you?” 

Adrian blinked. “Um, _what_?”

“The Celestians, Adrian. Keep up.” A few people walking by overheard Morgan and gave them both amused looks, probably assuming they were talking about some video game. Adrian gripped Morgan’s shoulders and moved her closer to the alley adjacent to the restaurant. Morgan shoved off his hands but remained close to him. When she spoke, her voice was quieter, but her tone was just as imperious. “When we adventured together, we saved entire worlds from destruction, but there are still people that need your-- _our_ help. There are people being enslaved just as the Manders were, and there are innocents being caught in the middle of war just like in MooShu.” Damn it. Morgan knew exactly how to manipulate him. Adrian rolled his eyes in defeat. “You’re supposed to be our chosen one, so act like it!” 

Adrian groaned. “What am I supposed to tell my parents this time?”

Morgan held her thumb to her mouth in thought. “The vacation excuse could work.”

“No.”

“Tell them a mysterious uncle appeared and invited you into an apprenticeship.”

“No. And they’re my parents--they would know about an uncle!”

“Tell them you entered into a whirlwind romance with a wealthy, aging widow who has invited you to live in her mansion far away.”

“No!”

“Ugh, I don’t have time for this!” Morgan shouted, as Adrian’s friends exited the restaurant. “Every second I stay here is using up the magic powering our ship. And we don’t have any way to refuel its Mana reserves while we’re here.” Adrian watched his friends approaching him from behind Morgan. “I don’t care if I have to knock you out and tie you up. You are coming with me immediately.” 

Adrian’s eyebrows jerked up. He laughed awkwardly and waved back at the guys. “One sec!” He covered his cheek with one of his hands as they turned away to wait, sniggering amongst themselves. One of them made a dirty gesture with his fingers; Adrian was relieved that Morgan had her back to them.

He shifted his gaze back to Morgan, fidgeting with his jacket and bouncing his leg. “Okay. I guess I can say I decided to join the… Peace Corp or something. Even though that’s really not gonna hold up.” Morgan glared at Adrian, and he groaned. “Okay, but what the hell am I gonna do about my classes? At this point, they’re not gonna let me do a late withdrawal unless I have a doctor’s note for a life-threatening injury or something…” Adrian realized his mistake as soon as he said it.

Morgan beamed and raised her fist. “Easy enough.” 

“Morgan!”

She smirked, then moved her hand to her neck and lifted an Amulet from under her shirt. Dark energy swirled around the jewel, bubbling like poison in a cauldron. “I don’t have any connection to my magic here, but I can still access the spell that’s kept in here.”

“And then you’ll heal me once we get back to the Spiral?”

“Only if you’re _really_ nice to me.”

Adrian dropped his arms to his sides, cursing. “If I go with you... at least I’ll be able to do some good, I guess.” He hoped Morgan didn’t notice the grin that was becoming increasingly harder to hide. He gestured for Morgan to wait as he headed over to his friends. 

“Here, you left your backpack inside,” said one of Adrian’s friends, who struggled not to grunt from its heavy weight as he handed it back to him. Adrian tousled his curly hair and gave superficial goodbyes, pretending like everything was normal. “See you later, Mr. Shadowblade,” his friend responded with a snicker. Each of the boys left to go back to their respective homes or dorms to study. Although Adrian’s backpack was heavy with textbooks and disorganized, crumpled paperwork, his shoulders hadn’t felt so light since he was eleven years old. 

Morgan crossed her arms, trying to pretend she wasn’t shivering from the cold. “The backpacks here seem awful. I don’t know how people manage without enchantments to keep them light and spacious.”

Adrian gave his signature goofy grin. “I don’t even care anymore. I can’t wait to Spectral Blast the SHIT outta this!”


End file.
